Parachute carrier



June 1954 c. J. LUCCI El AL PARACHUTE CARRIER Filed Dec. 11, 1952 INVENTORS CHESTER J. LUCC/ MAX .1. L was BYEDWARD .1. TUSl/VA aka, My; 6W

Patented June 8, 1954 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE PARACHUTE CARRIER Chester J. Lucci, Max' J. Lukas, and Edward J. Tusina, Wheeling, W. Va.

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to a traveler or carrier attachment for kites and, more particularly, to a carrier attachment adapted to travel up a kite string to a predetermined point and then release a toy parachute which will float gradually to the ground.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a novel releasing mechanism which will automatically release the toy parachute from the carrier at a predetermined point on the kite string, said mechanism being easy to set and operate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a carrier for releasing a toy parachute at a predetermined point on a kite string which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a carrier for attachment to a kite string which will release a parachute at a predetermined point on the kite string that will be stable in its travel along the kite string so that the releasing mechanism will not be prematurely released.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a carrier attachment for travel along a kite string which may be manufactured with a minimum of moving parts from plastic material or the like.

These and other objects of the invention are obtained by the novel construction and arrangement of parts disclosed in the specification, claims and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the application of the present invention to a kite string;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the carrier showing the releasing mechanism in the released position;

Figure 3 is a top plane View of the carrier;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the carrier with the releasing mechanism in the unreleased position; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary side elevational view of the released mechanism of the carrier in the unreleased position.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters or reference numerals represent like or similar parts, and more particularly, referring to Figure 1, a kite It is shown attached to a kite string l2 upon which is mounted the carrier or traveler M of the present invention. Carrier i l supports a toy parachute it having a toy figure l8 attached thereto by means of the shrouds or harness 20. As is well known in the art, the toy figure 18 must be made of a heavy material so Cir that the parachute will descend properly to the ground, after its release from the carrier it. The carrier I l will travel up the kite string E2 by wind catching in and pulling the open parachute [6 until the releasing mechanism of the carrier strikes an abutment 22 on the kite string. Abutment 22 may be a knot in the kite string or a stop rigidly mounted on the kite string. At the predetermined point of release on the kite string, the releasing mechanism will be actuated to release the parachute and allow it and the toy figure to descend or float gradually to the ground.

As shown in Figure 2, the carrier i l consists of a fiat, elongated body 24 having kite stringengaging hooks 26 extending from the upper longitudinal edge of the body at each end thereof. Kite string-engaging hooks 2d are oppositely disposed, so that the kite string i'Z may pass therethrough but will not become easily disengaged from the hooks 26 while carrier It is traveling up the kite string. The elongated body 2% is preferably made from a flat piece of plastic material, but it is within the contemplation of the invention that the body may be made from other materials, such as sheet metal or the like. Elongated body 24 is streamlined in configuration so that it will be lighter and more pleasing to the eye.

The releasing mechanism for releasing a ring t2 attached to the harness or shrouds 20 and supporting the toy parachute and figure, consist of a slotted member 28, aslightly resilient member or arm 31} and a latch plate or retaining element 32. Slotted member 28 is attached to the lower longitudinal edge of the elongated body 24 at the forward end thereof and extending downwardly and forwardly therefrom. Resilient arm 30, which is also attached to the lower longitudinal edge of the elongated body 24 but to the rear of the slotted member 28, extends downwardly and forwardly from body 24 to a point adjacent the end and below the slotted member 28. The free end of the resilient arm is notched, as shown at it, for reasons which will be more apparent later in the specification. As is apparent from the drawing, slotted member 28 and resilient arm 31] are made integral with elongated body it, but it is within the scope of the invention to make these units separate and to rigidly attach them to the elongated body. Latch plate or retaining element 32, which holds ring 42 on resilient arm 39, has a curved bifurcated end 34 adapted to receive the kite string therebetween and to engage the abutment or stop 22. At the other end or the latch plate or retaining element 32 there is a pair of openings 35 separated by a cross bar .38. The.

openings 36 are adapted to receive and frictionally hold the slotted member 28 and the aforementioned cross bar 38 acts as a pivot point upon which the latch plate 32 will pivot in the slot of the slotted member 28. The lower opening 35' of the pair of openings 36 is also adapted to receive the notch 40 of the resilient arm 3% when the carrier'is in the unreleased or set position, as shown in Figure 5.

It is now evident that, when the latch plate 32 is pivoted to the position shown in Figure and the resilient arm is spring-pressed into position in the lower opening 36 of the latch plate and held there by the notch '50 bearing against the wall of the opening 36, that the ring 42, attached to the parachute harness 20, will be retained in place on the resilient arm 36. As the wind, which supports the kite, also carries the parachute l6 and the carrier It up the kite string 12, the ring 42 will remain in position until the bifurcated portion 34 of the latch plate 32 engages the abutment 22 on thekite string. At this point, the latch plate 32 will pivot free of the resilient arm 30 and the ring 42, supporting the parachute l6 and toy figure 18, will slide down the arm 3% and be released therefrom so that the parachute may descend gradually to the ground.

In order that the carrier or traveler 14 will be more stable as it travels up the kite string [2, and in order that the carrier will assume the appearance of an airplane, a pair of wings ts are provided. The wings 46 extend from each side of the elongated body 24 and will help to maintain the body stable as the carrier is moving up the kite string.

It is now apparent that we have developed a new and novel traveler or carrier for releasing a parachute at a predetermined point on a kite string. It is evident that the carrier may be manufactured by molding from plastic material and that it consists of only two separate parts, namely, the carrier body [4 with its integral hooks 26, slotted member 28and resilient arm 30, and the latch plate or retaining element 32.

The terminology used-in the specification is for the purpose of description and not for limitation, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A carrier of the type adapted to travel along 1 cent and to the rear of the slotted member and extending downwardly and forwardly from said body, and a retaining element for holding the parachute on said resilient arm, said retaining element being bifurcated at one end thereof for engagement with an abutment on the kite string at the predetermined point of release, and having at the other end thereof an element pivotally mounted in the slot in the slotted member and a second element releasably engaging said resilient arm.

2. A carrier of the type adapted to travel along a kite string and release a toy parachute at a predetermined point, comprising a flat, elongated body, kite string-engaging hook means extending from the upper longitudinal edge of said body at each end thereof, a slotted member extending downwardly and forwardly from the lower longitudinal edge of said body, a resilient arm adjacent and to the rear of the slotted member and extending downwardly and forwardly from said body, said resilient arm having a notch in the free end thereof, and a retaining element for releasably holding the parachute on said resilient arm, said retaining element being bifurcated at one end thereof for engagement with an abutment on the kite string at the predetermined point of release, and having at the other end thereof a pair of openings separated by a cross bar to receive said slotted member for pivotal engagement therewith, and the lower of said openings releasably engaging the notch of said resilient arm, whereby the toy parachute is retained on said resilient arm until said retaining element contacts the abutment on the kite string and pivots free of the resilient arm.

3. A carrier of the type adapted to travel along a kite string and release a toy parachute at a predetermined point, comprising a flat, elongated body, kite string-engaging hook means extending from the upper longitudinal edge of said body at each end thereof, wing-shaped members extending from each side of said body for stabilizing said carrier during the travel along the kite string and at the releasing point of the toy parachute, a slotted member extending downwardly and forwardly from the lower longitudinal edge of said body, a resilient arm adjacent and to the rear of the slotted member and extending downwardly and forwardly from said body, said resilient arm having a notch in the free end thereof, and a retaining element for releasably holding the parachute on said resilient arm, said retaining element being bifurcated at one end thereof for engagement with an abutment on the kite string at the predetermined point of release and having at the other end thereof a pair of openings separated by a cross bar to receive said slotted member for pivotal engagement therewith, and the lower of said openings releasably engaging the notch of said resilient arm, whereby the toy parachute is retained on said resilient arm until said retaining element contacts the abutment on the kite string and pivots free of the resilient arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 985,301 Terry Feb. 28, 1911 1,746,157 Johnson Feb. 4, 1930 2,469,449 Baskin May 10, 1949 2,471,199 Coyne May 24, 1949 2,478,213 Nissen June 14, 1949 

